K: Financial and Insurance Services

Banks growl at BEAR necessities

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 26 : 2-Aug-17

Australian banks have expressed concern about the Federal Government’s proposed Banking Executive Accountability Regime. Criticisms include the lack of sufficient industry consultation and the fact that while non-bank financial services providers such as insurers will be excluded from the regime, it will apply to such businesses that are owned by banks. The Australian Bankers’ Association has also questioned the length of consultation period, although it is generally supportive of the push to increase the accountability of bank executives.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION

Rising dollar a threat to economy: RBA

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 27 : 2-Aug-17

The Reserve Bank still expects GDP growth to return to three per cent and inflation to rise to within its target range. However, these forecasts are being hindered by the continued strength of the Australian dollar, which has been noted by central bank governor Philip Lowe. He is upbeat about the outlook for the labour market, forecasting that the unemployment rate will ease in the next several years. Meanwhile, Michael Blythe of the Commonwealth Bank expects the cash rate to remain on hold until at least late 2018.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

ANZ restructure raises union fears of significant job losses

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-Aug-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott will emphasis on 1 August 2017 via a video to all staff that its Australasian focus is on retail customers and on corporate customers in Asia. The video will follow on from a message sent by Elliott on the previous day in which he called for changes to ANZ’s work practices and flexibility. Julia Angrisano of the Finance Sector Union says it is concerned that what appears to be a major reorganisation by ANZ will lead to job cuts at the bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Sharemarket’s worst July for six years cements investor gloom

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Aug-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index defied the medium-term trend to lose ground in July 2017. Since 2000, the index has gained an average of 1.3 per cent in July, but its underperformance over the last month means it has finished in the red for the last three months. The S&P/ASX 200 met with resistance at the 5,700-point level in July, and indeed in the last several months. The Australian market remains about 16 per cent below its peak prior to the global financial crisis, while key US share price indices are at record highs.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 ACCUMULATION INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Residential lending hits record levels

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Aug-17

Reserve Bank of Australia figures show that there was a 7.4 per cent increase in mortgage loans to property investors in the year to June 2017. This compares with an increase of 6.2 per cent in loans to owner-occupiers. Overall, a record $A1.69 trillion worth of mortgages were active at the end of June. Martin North of Digital Finance Analytics said the figures suggest that regulatory attempts to cool the residential property market do not seem to have had any impact yet.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ME BANK, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CANSTAR PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mortgage stress growing: ME Bank

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 31-Jul-17

Almost 50 per cent of Australian mortgage holders are spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on repayments, according to a survey by ME Bank. It also found that borrowers are less confident than they were six months ago about their ability to meet minimum mortgage repayments, with investors more pessimistic than owner-occupiers. Similarly, borrowers are less confident than when previously surveyed about their ability to repay more than the minimum amount on their mortgage.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

China pullback won’t dent local M&A

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 31-Jul-17

Data from Dealogic shows that $US40.7bn ($A50.9bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions involving Australian companies have been announced so far in 2017. Minter Ellison partner Alberto Colla expects Japanese corporate raiders to continue to target local companies following a number of deals over the last 18 months. The law firm anticipates that US and Canadian companies will also be key drivers of M&A activity in Australia, particularly if Chinese deal-making is affected by China’s new regulations on financial outflows.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MINTER ELLISON, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, BRADKEN LIMITED, HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY LIMITED, ASG GROUP LIMITED, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED – ASX PRG, PERSOL, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, CORNERSTONE RESEARCH GROUP, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, QUINDELL PLC, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM

Cyber crooks selling forged CBA statements for just $6

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Jul-17

Identity theft is growing at 80 per cent per annum according to Equifax, while fake Commonwealth Bank and Westpac bank statements can be acquired on the "dark web" for as little as $A6. Spokespersons for both banks state that they have a range of technologies and monitoring activities in place aimed at preventing the theft of customer data. Identity thieves can use false bank statements for any number of purposes, including setting up other bank accounts and earning identity points to acquire drivers’ licences and other official documents.

CORPORATES
EQUIFAX INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, THE PERSONNEL RISK MANAGEMENT GROUP PTY LTD, PHARMACYID PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

RBA rate hike hopes fade as Aussie bumps past US80c

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 28-Jul-17

The Australian dollar reached a new two-year high of US0.8043 during intra-day trading on 27 July, compared with $US0.76 at the start of the month. The currency rallied after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates on hold, and Charlie Jamieson of Jamieson Coote Bonds says a US rate rise in September is looking increasingly unlikely, while a rise in Australia’s cash rate will also be off the agenda in the near-term. Meanwhile, Westpac estimates that the Australian dollar’s fair value is around $US0.76 to $US0.77.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA

O’Dwyer lashes out at ‘tricky’ insurers

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 27-Jul-17

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has criticised the way life insurance providers have handled requests by superannuation fund members to opt out of life and disability coverage via their super fund. O’Dwyer says life insurers have been "tricky" regarding the issue of opting out. She also argues that life insurers must demonstrate that the products they offer have value to super fund members, and notes that such coverage may not necessarily be relevant to people under the age of 25.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ